Securitize, the tokenization firm behind BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, has agreed to buy River One, a New York startup that arranges warehouse loans for lenders and wants to fund them with stablecoin capital. The company announced the deal alongside its first quarterly results as a listed company on Monday, reporting a record $5.0 billion in average tokenized assets and a $66.3 million net loss. The deal would take Securitize beyond issuing and servicing tokenized assets and into lending against them.
What Securitize is buying
River One, formally River Credit Labs Inc., was founded in New York in 2025 and specializes in warehouse financing backed by small business loans, receivables and other income-generating collateral, Securitize said. Warehouse facilities give loan originators the cash to fund loans as they are made, before those loans are packaged or sold. River One was incubated by Framework Ventures, with backing from Framework and Maple Finance.
The pitch is to pair River One’s underwriting and facility-management software with Securitize’s tokenization rails, so institutions can bring assets onchain and borrow against them in one place. Securitize framed the target as the $6 trillion private asset-backed finance market, citing a KKR estimate that it could reach $9.2 trillion by 2029.
“Credit is one of the most exciting emerging asset classes for blockchain-based financial markets, and acquiring River One represents an important step in expanding our business into this space,” chairman and chief executive Carlos Domingo said. Terms were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to customary conditions.
River One is a young business. Securitize’s own release lists “the early-stage nature of River One’s business and technology” and its ability to build relationships with capital providers and borrowers among the risks to the deal.
Record average assets, softer quarter-end
The headline growth figure needs a second look. Average tokenized assets on the platform rose 39% from a year earlier to $5.0 billion in the third quarter, according to the earnings release. But the total at Sept. 30 was $4.8 billion, up only 9%, which means assets ended the quarter below their average for the period.
Revenue rose 13% to $18.6 million. The split shows where the growth came from. Tokenization revenue climbed 28% to $11.5 million, while asset servicing slipped 6% to $7.2 million. Assets under administration at Securitize Fund Services, its fund-administration arm, fell 29% to $25.2 billion, and the number of funds it services was roughly flat at 669.
Aggregate transaction volume rose 20% to $4.3 billion. The release also revised the second-quarter figure down to $4.4 billion from the $5.3 billion previously reported, though the company said the revisions did not affect its financial results.
Listing costs drive the loss
Total operating costs rose 183% to $42.2 million, with selling, general and administrative expenses up 209% and compensation up 271%. Share-based compensation alone was $13.4 million. Below the operating line, a $23.2 million charge on earnout liabilities and a $20.6 million loss on settling convertible instruments pushed the net loss to $66.3 million, or 41 cents a share. The company said about $60 million of the loss came from largely non-cash charges tied to its business combination and listing. Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $2.0 million, compared with a $3.6 million profit a year earlier.
Securitize ended September with $298.9 million in cash and no debt, after raising money through its merger with Cantor Equity Partners II, which put its shares on the NYSE under SECZ in July. The board approved a buyback of up to $50 million that runs through Dec. 31, 2027 and does not oblige the company to buy any shares. The stock rose about 10% in after-hours trading on Monday, CNBC reported.
What to watch next
The fourth quarter will show whether the drift in tokenized assets toward quarter-end reversed, and how much Securitize Stocks contributes. That product, launched on Oct. 8 on Solana, offers tokenized interests in U.S.-listed shares backed one-for-one by the underlying stock and runs on Securitize’s existing broker-dealer and trading-system licenses rather than the SEC’s new innovation exemption. Competition is building. On Monday the NYSE picked Avalanche to run the settlement ledger for its planned tokenized stock venue, and Domingo said Securitize also plans to support venues operating under that exemption.
FAQ
What is River One?
River One is a New York asset-backed financing platform founded in 2025. It runs warehouse credit facilities for lenders and aims to fund them with stablecoin capital. It was incubated by Framework Ventures and backed by Maple Finance.
How much is Securitize paying for River One?
The company did not disclose the price. It expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Was Securitize profitable in the third quarter?
No. It reported a $66.3 million net loss, about $60 million of which it attributed to largely non-cash listing and merger charges. Adjusted EBITDA was a $2.0 million loss on revenue of $18.6 million.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
